Tāneatua

Taneatua (officially, Tāneatua) is a small town in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The town is located southeast of Pekatahi, a similarly small settlement; Whakatāne is the nearest significantly sized town. Just to the southwest of Taneatua, the Whakatane River and Waimana Rivers meet. The Whakatane River itself flows to the west of Taneatua, while the Waimana River is south of the township.

Taneatua
Main street in Taneatua, ca. 1920
Coordinates: 38°03′50″S 177°00′25″E
Country	New Zealand
Region	Bay of Plenty
Territorial authority	Whakatāne District
Ward	Tāneatua-Waimana
Population  (2013)
• Total	786

Taneatua is officially defined as a "populated area less than a town".[1] The 2013 New Zealand census found its population to be 786.[2]

Taneatua is home to the whare of Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Uru Taumatua, which includes a library, gallery, archive and large tribal meeting chamber.[3]

State Highway 2 passes through Taneatua on its route between Opotiki to Edgecumbe. The Tāneatua Branch railway terminates in Taneatua. Formerly considered part of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway, it is now a branch line off the main line from Hawkens Junction, northwest of Edgecumbe. The line is currently disused and mothballed.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	1,347	—
2013	1,365	+0.19%
2018	1,497	+1.86%
Source: [4]

The statistical area of Wainui, which includes Tāneatua but at 87 square kilometres is much larger than the town, had a population of 1,497 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 132 people (9.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 150 people (11.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 432 households. There were 744 males and 753 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.99 males per female. The median age was 33.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 405 people (27.1%) aged under 15 years, 288 (19.2%) aged 15 to 29, 651 (43.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 156 (10.4%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 44.1% European/Pākehā, 67.3% Māori, 3.4% Pacific peoples, 1.0% Asian, and 0.8% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

The proportion of people born overseas was 7.0%, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 44.3% had no religion, 28.7% were Christian, 0.2% were Buddhist and 21.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 192 (17.6%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 207 (19.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $26,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 501 (45.9%) people were employed full-time, 213 (19.5%) were part-time, and 75 (6.9%) were unemployed.[4]

Education

Taneatua School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,[5] with a roll of 124 as of March 2020.[6]

References

1. "Place name detail: Tāneatua". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
2. "2013 Census QuickStats about a place: Taneatua". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
3. Teepa, Ati (10 April 2014). "Te Uru Taumatua: Tūhoe's whare". The Wireless. Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
4. "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Wainui (203100). 2018 Census place summary: Wainui
5. "Ministry of Education School Profile". educationcounts.govt.nz. Ministry of Education.
6. "Education Review Office Report". ero.govt.nz. Education Review Office.